True Love Never Dies
by LilaStar
Summary: Will and Lyra get around their difficulties...slowly...as in every cliche Lyra/Will fic....*smiles* But it's a little different...I hope!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me...well, anyone you don't recognize problably does...Like Nick, Mel and Nirvera. Otherwise...they all belong to Phillip Pullman  
  
AN: Like what seems to be EVERYONE ELSE...the end of the Amber Spyglass drove me absolutely mad. So I started writing this. reviews are appreciated, but I'm mostly posting this for myself. Reviews MAY make me write faster...no guarantees though. *wink* Enjoy, and there IS indeed, more to come!  
  
Will sighed. Going back to school was about the last thing he wanted to do after leaving Lyra, at least he was going to a different school now, he had a chance to start over and make some friends. He'd already made one, and he seemed pretty trustworthy, he didn't even seem to mind Will's drastic mood swings; which had become for more common.  
  
~*~  
  
Nick lay back against the foot of Will's bed. Will was strange, but he was a nice guy, though there were defiantly some things that just didn't seem to have a logical explanation. He never asked, but sometimes he did wonder.  
  
"Hey Will," he said, looking up from the comic book he had been flipping through to notice Will was just staring at the ceiling. "Would you mind is I asked you something?"  
  
"Sure." Will replied, he seemed very…distant. Almost as if he were in another world.  
  
"What happened to your fingers?"  
  
Will sat up. He hadn't expected THAT, in fact, he'd quite forgotten about it since, well, Lyra. "Um…that's a really long story, and I'd have to tell it all, because otherwise, none would make sense." He swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat, he still cried himself to sleep some nights, he just missed her so badly.  
  
"Well, we haven't much else to do, have we? I'd like to hear it." Nick turned around and smiled. He was the only person Will had really let himself get close to, but he never told him about Lyra, he just didn't really talk about her to anyone.  
  
"Alright, on one condition," Will agreed slowly, "You can NOT, for any reason, repeat what I tell you, ok?" Nick nodded; Will knew he'd be true to his word. He smiled well, I suppose the best place to start is Kirjava."  
  
"You mean your cat?" Nick asked, confused.  
  
Will winced. "My dæmon." He replied. "That's the part I need to explain." Just then Kirjava walked in the door. Nick's eyes widened in surprise, that couldn't be just a coincidence. "Kirjava," Will smiled at her as she jumped in his lap, "You know Nick." Nick swore he could almost see the 'dæmon' nod. "Well, he asked about my hand," Will continued, looking carefully at the place that once had two fingers attached, "and I'm going to tell him. But I could sure use some help." He grinned and looked at Nick, grinning slightly. If he had been the normal reaction, this was bound to be a bit…funny.  
  
Kirjava turned to Nick, "What happened to his fingers is rather obvious, they were cut off, but I believe your actually question would consist of 'how' or 'why', which is far more complicated." She stated simply. "And will is right, it's a very long story. Odds are, he's not going to stop in the middle either, with the loss of his fingers."  
  
Nick's jaw had long since dropped. "You…you…you can TALK! But- how? And…what? Why? Oh I'm so confused." He said, dropping his head into his hands.  
  
"And that's exactly why we're about to explain everything." Will stated, grinning. No wonder Lyra had laughed when he first heard Pan speak; it was pretty funny to see something so natural be so UNATUARAL to someone else. "The main point is that there are several different 'worlds', you could say, and they're all similar and very close together in places. And there's one world where every person has a dæmon, like Kirjava. But they have an Oxford, and a Botanical Garden, and several other similarities, yet this world and that one are undeniably different. I actually discovered it on accident, or maybe fate, but I stumbled through a window into another world, and that's where I first met Lyra and Pan, I didn't know Kirjava then, she was inside me, you have a dæmon inside you too, you just didn't know it." Will smiled and stroked Kirjava's silky fur. "That's what Lyra told me when we first met." He looked down as a single tear made its way down his cheek. He looked back up, not bothering to brush it away. "There is, or was that is, a knife that cut these windows between worlds. One side could cut the windows; the other could cut through and material. I lost my fingers fighting for it." He rubbed his thumb over the stumps and sighed. "I don't know how much sense that made, but that's what happened to them." He grinned. "And I can't just tell you that much, now you have to hear the REST of the story. Good thing it's Friday."  
  
Nick sat dumbfounded for a moment before regaining enough of his senses to call home and ask for a major extension of his curfew.  
  
~*~  
  
Lyra flopped back on her bed at St. Sophia's. It had been only two years since she'd said goodbye to Will, and she still missed him terribly, and still couldn't bring her self to see another guy. No one could compare to Will, not ever. So it was no use in even trying. None of the other girls had any idea of why she was the way she was; she was a constant mystery to them. She had friends of course; she had always made them very easily. Yet, since she met Will, she'd never been as outgoing and imaginative as before. She was a very different person from the Lyra who hid in the Retiring Room at Jordan Collage so long ago.  
  
"Oh Pan," she sighed, "I miss him so much…"  
  
"Miss who?" a voice asked from the door. Lyra looked up to see Melanie, her closest friend at St. Sophia's. It was different to have a female friend, but nice at the same time.  
  
Lyra smiled. "Hey Mel. I was talking about Will."  
  
Mel tilted her head, her dæmon, a robin named Nivera, ruffled his feathers slightly. "Who's Will?"  
  
Lyra looked up, somewhat startled, and then smiled sheepishly. She'd never really even considered telling anyone about Will, but then, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. "Can you keep a secret? I mean, a really big secret, the sort that people aren't supposed to know about."  
  
"Sure, though I don't see what could be so…" Mel began, but Lyra quickly cut her off.  
  
"God is dead and the kingdom of heaven has fallen- just for starters. Also, the 'other world' theory- that was entirely correct, only, no openings exist any longer." Lyra blurted out quickly; otherwise she was afraid she'd lose her nerve, something that never would have happened before everything.  
  
Mel blinked. "And how is that…possible? And how do you know?"  
  
Lyra took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn't so good of a place to start. "God was an angel, one of the first; he was too old and was blown away in the wind. He'd been kept in a crystal coffin of sorts for who knows how long. Will and I, we let him out, and he was just...gone. I know because I was there, I know about the other worlds because I've been in some of them. Will is from another world, and he has to stay there, just like I have to stay here. People can't live long outside their own worlds. We're trapped."  
  
Mel shook her head. "That's rather a lot of very…controversial information."  
  
"I've been to the land of the dead." Lyra responded. "It was terrible."  
  
"That's impossible, how can it be true?" Mel asked, it was just way too much to take in.  
  
"I can prove it. I had to leave Pan behind." Lyra stated; some of her old stubbornness returning. "How far can you separate from Nivera?"  
  
"A few feet, why?" Mel tilted her head again in confusion.  
  
"So, for him to go as far as…oh, lets say that tree," Lyra pointed to a tree about 15 feet from the window, "would be completely impossible?" Mel's eyes widened in shock as she nodded. "And may I remind you, I'm no witch."  
  
With that, Pan jumped through to window and scampered across the lawn. Lyra turned back to Mel. "Proof enough?" Melanie just nodded. "I told you all that because it's the hardest part to believe, so I figure, if you'll believe me on that, you can believe the rest of the story."  
  
"Well that was one hell of a shocking test then!" Mel exclaimed, finally relaxing. "So, to the point. Who's Will?"  
  
Lyra eyes began to water and Pan came running back. "This may take awhile."  
  
~*~  
  
"So they're there, and we're stuck here." Both Lyra and Will finished at the same time in their own separate worlds.  
  
Lyra lay back down and sighed before realizing that something was missing. Something very vital was missing.  
  
"Where's Pan?"  
  
~*~  
  
Pan jumped back in fright as something very large and loud came hurtling at him. "Where am I?" He wondered, "And how did I get here?" Suddenly he remembered about cars, the thing that had almost killed him. "Cars are in Will's world…in Kirjava's world. I have to find them!" He concluded, just moments after Kirjava had made the same discovery in Lyra's world.  
  
~*~  
  
"What happened?" Nick asked. One moment Kirjava had been there, the next she was gone, without a trace.  
  
"I don't know, all I can tell is that somehow, she's not here. Close in some ways, but not in others. It hardly makes sense, and the only explanation I can think of is that it's like she went through a window, only, none exist." Will stated, staring at the spot where Kirjava had been only moments before. "There's something else strange too though," he said slowly, "I should feel almost torn, but I feel…more complete. It's backwards. Almost as if Lyra was here, but I know she's not, so what am I THINKING!" Will shouted after his verbal train of thought.  
  
"Maybe it IS possible then..." Nick began, only to be cut off by a glare from Will. "Okay, I get the idea, I won't say that." He smiled. Will was completely head over heels for this Lyra, and was absolutely torn. That was about the only bit of the entire story that really made SENSE. The rest was as confusing as quantum physics. Will was in love with someone he couldn't be with, which certainly explained a lot about him, and squashed any rumors about him being homosexual. (Amazing what curious, gossiping teens can come up with!) "So, aside from that," Nick stood up and began walking around as he thought, "You said Lyra and all her people have dæmons too?" Will nodded slowly, wondering where Nick was going with this. "Could it be that they…changed places perhaps?"  
  
"How could they do that? I told you, there aren't any openings left, the angels closed them all." Will asked, burying his face in the pillow on his bed. "I wish that could be it, but there's no way it could happen. It's completely impossible."  
  
"Well," Nick said, shrugging his shoulders, "So is everything else you've told me in the past…several…hours."  
  
Will grinned. There was definitely some truth to that statement.  
  
~*~  
  
"Where'd Pan go now?" Mel asked, confused. One moment he'd been there, the next, he wasn't. No dæmon she'd ever seen had been able to do that, and strangely enough, Lyra looked just as confused.  
  
"I…don't know." She said, her eyes clouding in worry, before suddenly clearing. "I feel Will, I think he's in our world…somehow." She exclaimed, a spark of hope and happiness in her eyes that no one at St. Sophia's had ever seen, just before racing out the door, Mel not far behind.  
  
~*~  
  
"I guess you have a point. But I think I know how we can find out. It's time you saw what Mary actually DOES, besides burning food." Will smiled, Mary actually wasn't that bad of a cook, but it had been an ongoing joke since he and his mother had moved in with her 3 years earlier that no scientist could be a decent cook. Mary had been working ever since their return to recreate 'The Cave', and just a few months ago, she'd finally managed it. It was in the basement, which is where she was now, working as usual.  
  
"Mary?" Will said softly, tapping on the doorframe of the basement. "I've got a minor…mystery that I was wondering if you could help me with."   
  
Mary looked up and smiled. "Sure, come on down."  
  
Nick looked around. The entire room was covered in wires and strange electrical appliances. Nothing looked like anything he'd seen before in other labs.  
  
"Mary, you've met Nick, right?"  
  
"In passing."  
  
"Well then, Mary, this is Nick, Nick, this is Mary." Will grinned, "He knows."  
  
"Someone you finally found you could trust? It's a pleasure to meet you Nick." She smiled happily; maybe Will could finally start to really live again, just maybe. "So what was this mystery?"  
  
"Kirjava just vanished. Right after I finished telling the story, she just…disappeared." Mary's eyes went wide. "We were wondering, or at least I was, if you could ask the shadows to see what happened. The weirdest part is that while I feel empty in some ways, I feel more complete in others, almost as though Lyra was here." He added softly, looking down at his feet.  
  
If possible, Mary's eyes went even wider. "Well, I'll see what the shadows have to say for themselves then." She lifted the cover off of an ordinary keyboard and began typing.  
  
Nick watched as the word appeared on a larger screen mounted on a wall.  
  
'What happened to Kirjava?'  
  
Within moments words began to appear, but not by letters as they would if they had been typed, but as if the words them selves were merely forming.  
  
'She has changed universes.'  
  
'How?' Mary quickly replied.  
  
'A very strong connection was made between the 'Dust' or 'Shadows' of two humans in different worlds. Their souls crossed the barrier.'  
  
Will stood stock-still and stared at the screen. "Does that mean that Pan's here? Nearby?"  
  
Mary turned back to the keyboard without saying a word.  
  
'Where is Pantalaimon?'  
  
'Banbury Road.'  
  
Mary looked up, "That's where the window I came through was at…how odd."  
  
Will was still staring at the screen in shock. "Pan…here…part of Lyra's in our world. We HAVE to get him!" He stuttered on a few of the words, but the meaning was obvious, and he meant to leave RIGHT NOW.  
  
"Hold on Will," Mary said before he darted for the door, "I have another question to ask." She turned back to the keyboard.  
  
'Where is Kirjava?'  
  
'Jordan College.'  
  
"She's safe." Will grinned, "That's where Lyra grew up, in her Oxford. Now come ON!" he whined, aching to find Pan.  
  
"You two go, I have some more work to do here." Mary smiled and replaced the cover on the keyboard and began working with some of the wires. Even Will wasn't certain as to what she was working on.  
  
~*~  
  
"What do you think happened?" Mel asked in amazement. First she'd heard the most incredible story of her life, which just so happened to be true, and now there was suddenly a great mystery at her feet. He once dull life had become rather fascinating the very moment she met Lyra.  
  
"Well, my best guess is that somehow, he's not in this world anymore." She stated simply, "Despite how utterly impossible it is." She sighed. "The one thing I really can't figure out is why does it feel like Will is suddenly much closer than he was?"  
  
"That is a mystery." Mel stated, "Has it ever happened before?"  
  
"Only on midsummer's Day when we meet in the Botanical Gardens. But nothing like THIS has ever happened, especially Pan's disappearance." Lyra sighed and sped up.  
  
"So where exactly are we going?" Mel asked, she was starting to run out of breath, and by now they seemed to be halfway across Oxford. Lyra was an amazingly fast runner when she put her mind to it.  
  
"Jordan College. I want to talk to the Master about this." She said quickly and raced on.  
  
~*~  
  
Mary glanced at the printout of calculations in her notebook. She'd been working ever since she'd managed to recreate the Cave to find a way to reunite Lyra and Will. Living with Will and his sorrow was almost too much to bear. For the first year she'd had the recreation of the Cave to occupy her mind, but when it was finished and working, suddenly she was very aware of how much Will still missed Lyra and how miserable it made him. And it's just not very easy to live with someone who is utterly miserable in his own skin, his own world for that matter. Consequently, one of her first questions to the Cave was how to create a passage between worlds that would not leak dust or create specters. The answer had been instant, but incredibly long, so she'd managed to hook up an old printer and make a hard copy of the instructions.  
  
So for the past four months, Mary had been working to create the Key. According to the cave, it would unlock a door between worlds without and negative consequence, she'd asked several times, and all her work had shown that it would be perfectly safe, but difficult to use. The main difficulty was that it required a part of the wielder to be on either side of the door, a concept she hadn't fully understood until just a few hours ago. And now she was within days of her goal, and Will's birthday. What a pleasant surprise this would be!  
  
~*~  
  
"Wait up Will!" Nick cried, gasping for breath. They'd run nearly five miles already and were only a street away from Banbury Street. Will paused only long enough for Nick to catch up before running on.  
  
As he approached the road, he saw a reddish blur dart between two houses. "Pan." He thought to himself before calling out. "PANTALAIMON!"  
  
Pan raced back into the street he had finally escaped. There was Will running towards him at breakneck speed, another boy not too far behind. "Will," he whispered quietly to himself to avoid being overheard before dropping to all fours and galloping towards Will, it wasn't long before they met in the middle and Pan leapt into Will's arms, despite the taboo.  
  
~*~  
  
Mel and Lyra were almost at Jordan College when Lyra suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. A look of bliss came over her face as she stood there. Mel stared at her, not sure what to think.  
  
"Umm…Lyra?" She asked quietly, not entirely willing to break her from this happiness she'd found, out of nowhere.  
  
Lyra simply turned to her and smiled. "Pan's with Will."  
  
"How do you know?" Mel asked, confused.  
  
"He's holding him." Lyra answered simply. "I could never mistake that feeling."  
  
Mel's eyes widened, Lyra wasn't definitely not like the rest of the people in their world, not in the least.  
  
Ironically, they had stopped just outside the Botanical Gardens, under a tree. Lyra hadn't noticed, but her presence was known.  
  
"Lyra?" A voiced asked from above.  
  
Lyra was startled out of her trance and looked up to see a cat, not quite gray, but not blue or black either. "Kirjava? Is that you?" She asked tentatively. It couldn't be any other cat, but she was still too shocked to believe her eyes. In answer, Kirjava jumped down onto her shoulder. The contact made it perfectly clear.  
  
"Is Will with you?" Lyra asked slowly.  
  
"No," Kirjava responded, "but you already knew that. He's in my world, with Pan. He misses you terribly." She said sadly.  
  
"I miss him too, but somehow your presence makes it a little easier to bear." Lyra smiled sadly and stroked Kirjava's silky fur. "Kirjava, this is Melanie. Melanie, this is Kirjava, Will's dæmon."  
  
"You really don't care much about that taboo do you?" Mel laughed. Lyra was forced to smile in return.  
  
"Not when it comes to Will." She stated simply.  
  
"Melanie," Kirjava began before Mel quickly cut her off.  
  
"Just Mel is fine, only my parents call me Melanie." She grinned.  
  
"Alright then, Mel." Kirjava settled down on Lyra's shoulder. "I assume Lyra's told you about her past adventures?"  
  
"Only earlier this evening, but yes. Oh my, I hadn't realized it was so late!" She suddenly exclaimed. "Lyra, we DO have classes tomorrow, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Lyra said sheepishly. "I'd forgotten, there was too much to be distracted by. I suppose we can walk and talk at the same time." She smiled; the first real smile Mel had seen her give. "Kirjava? Has Will told anybody about those months?"  
  
Kirjava looked about as puzzled as a cat can look. "Yes actually…this evening. Perhaps that has something to do with how I ended up here. He was just finishing when I suddenly found myself on a very tall roof."  
  
"That's when Pan vanished too! Right as I was finishing, I'd said that you and Will were in your world, and we were stuck here, then he was just gone, as if to contradict what I'd just said." Lyra said in amazement.  
  
Kirjava's head snapped up. "That's exactly what Will had said. I think we've found how I ended up here."  
  
"Come on you two, it's a long walk home and Nivera's wanting to go to sleep." She said, indicating the robin perched on her shoulder, half hidden by her hair.  
  
"There'll be time for talk in the morning." He stated, "but the time for sleeping is now."  
  
The four of them laughed happily and made their way back to St. Sophia's.  
  
~*~  
  
Hope you liked it. =) 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- As always, not mine, except those you don't recognize  
  
A/N- Couldn't resist stopping there. I swear- there will be more! I just have no idea what it is yet. This will most likely stick to three parts, and you know what? I turn 17 in...17 minutes! bwhahaha ON WITH IT! Oh and- I've decided I like reviews, so R&R!!! It makes me write more. =)  
  
-2 days later-  
  
Mary sat back and wiped the sweat off her forehead ion frustration. Will's birthday was in two days, and she still didn't really know how the key worked. She'd created it and the Cave said it was all done properly. But as for using it, all she could find out was that 'it requires the deep concentration you use here'. Hopefully Will could understand it, the Cave wouldn't tell her much else. All she had left to do was wrap it…  
  
~*~  
  
Will lay stretched out on his bed the next day, Pantalaimon curled up on his chest. Will hadn't been this content in over two years. Now he had Pan AND a friend he could trust. That had made a world of difference. The only thing that could make it perfect would be Lyra herself, but at least he had a part of her. If only a small part.  
  
Just then- the doorbell rang.  
  
Will raced downstairs with Pan not far behind; hoping it would be Nick. It was Monday afternoon and school had gone amazingly well. He was no longer just the outcast. When he'd come back to his world he'd changed schools and didn't know anyone, nonetheless trust them. He'd slowly become acquainted with his classmates, but that was difficult due to the fact he really didn't want to talk much about himself. Today had been his first day at school with a real FRIEND. And Pan stayed in a tree outside most of the day. That was as perfect as anything could get.  
  
However, the man at the door was NOT Nick, but a deliveryman with a package for him. Will quickly signed the clipboard he was given and turned to the table to open the brown paper wrapping. Inside it was wrapped again in bright birthday paper. Will had actually forgotten his birthday was tomorrow. The box wasn't large, about the same size as a shoebox, and upon unwrapping the birthday paper, he realized it was indeed- a shoebox. Will sat and stared at the shoebox on the table for a moment before lifting off the lid to discover a small, old-fashioned key. It was brass with three prongs, and the end was fashioned into an hourglass within a Celtic knot. The only other thing in the box was a small piece of paper with a 5-word message on it.  
  
'Use it like the knife.'  
  
Will's Jaw dropped as he lifted the key to the light for a closer inspection.  
  
~*~  
  
Mary stood quietly in the doorway to the basement as Will opened his gift. She smiled to herself, pleased with her work.  
  
"Do you like it?" She asked.  
  
Will, startled, spun around and noticed her there for the first time. "Where did it come from?" He asked, extremely confused.  
  
"I've spent the last four months creating it with the help of the cave. I hope you at least can figure out how to work it." Mary smiled. "Sit down, let me tell you a bit about how it works- in theory at least."  
  
Will complied and Pan climbed up on the table next to him.  
  
"Basically," Mary began, "It unlocks a doorway between two worlds, that's why it's a key. Don't worry, I've checked every negative possibility I can think of, it won't release dust. I have the Cave's word on that. Nor will it create a specter."  
  
"So what's the drawback to it? I know there has to be one." Will stated, not willing to believe that there could be such possibility for fear of his hope being crushed like someone stepping on a coke can.  
  
"Only that it's extremely difficult to work." Mary stated with a sigh. "From what I can gather, part of the person using the knife has to be on the other side of the doorway. Directly on the other side."  
  
"How is that possible!?" Will exclaimed in dismay.  
  
"Kirjava's in Lyra's world." Mary said smiling. "Evidently fate was on your side…for once." She laughed softly. After all the trouble 'fate' had given those two, it was about time for it to be kind. "The only real dilemma I can see is getting that close to them without being able to see, hear, smell, or sense them in any way."  
  
"Then we may just have to wait until Midsummer's day." Will smiled, "but I can wait that long, I've waited two years already- and now I have something to look forward to." Will smiled, a real, truly happy smile.  
  
Inside, Mary was overjoyed. Will was happy, and that was all that mattered right now. "I hope you don't mind getting it a day early," She smirked, "but I couldn't keep it secret any longer!"  
  
Will laughed, "I'm surprised you kept it this long!" It really was quite a feat, but Mary stayed in the Cave long enough that she didn't have much time to spill the beans.  
  
"Oh, one more thing," Mary said quickly, fishing in her purse and pulling out a small shopping bag. "This is from your mother." She stated, handing him a small box. Inside was a brass chain, the same as the key. It fit easily through a loop on the Celtic knot, allowing the key to hang comfortably around his neck.  
  
"She asked me to give it to you whenever I gave you the key. She'll be back tomorrow in time for dinner."  
  
Elaine Parry had spent the past few months in therapy to recover from her previous mental conditions. She was much better, and could actually comprehend was she was being told now, but some side effects still lingered. She came 'home' whenever she could, but it never seemed to be often enough. But when she did come home, she always managed to surprise Will with how much she really KNEW.  
  
~*~  
  
Will's birthday- Lyra's world  
  
"Lyra, LYRA!" Dame Hanna had to speak very loudly to get Lyra's attention that Monday. She was still off in dream world.  
  
"Oh!" She said, quickly looking up. "I'm sorry." Since her return, Lyra had managed to acquire a few more manners than she'd previously had at Jordan, primarily because it was demanded at St. Sophia's.  
  
"I was asking you if you could solve this equation." Dame Hanna stated, pointing to a very long, involved set of pictures, numbers and letters displayed on the board. "As a challenge, I have requested the class- yourself included- to tell me what this represents. So far no one has been correct."  
  
Lyra stood up and walked to the board, slowly tracing her fingers over the pictures. One was of several overlapping circles that didn't seem to have a beginning or end. Another showed the Northern Lights, with yet another depicting an adult and a child. The adult surrounded by particles, the child only slightly. Lyra turned in confusion to Dame Hanna.  
  
"Where did you get these?" She asked in shock.  
  
"Several different scholars donated the copies to the school. Why do you ask?" Dame Hanna looked at her with confusion, her earlier anger completely gone.  
  
Lyra pointed to the Aurora and the child. "My father took these pictures three years ago when he went north. I've never seen this one," she said, pointing to the circles, "but I'm pretty sure I know what it is." She grinned.  
  
"Do tell then Miss Silvertongue." She smiled. Every scholar of any note was quite aware of Lyra's immense knowledge on this matter, though Lyra was still unaware of their interest.  
  
"Well," Lyra began, "all of them refer to Dust- of which we've all heard rumors of. Dust does exist, though a lot of people don't believe it, and it is not 'Original Sin' as the Church originally hypothesized. It gives humans, and any other intelligent life form the ability to think and be individuals. Or at least, that's it in a nutshell." Lyra grinned at the shocked looks on her classmates' faces, all except Mel, who of course had recently gained a lot of knowledge in this department. "The first picture, with the circle, depicts the multiple worlds theory which was considered the greatest heresy in Church History, but also happens to be true. The second picture of the Aurora actually shows this. If you look closely, you can see the tall buildings of the city of Citt?gazze- that is in another world. The final picture shows dust. One of the things most scientists and scholars have been most interested in is the difference in how Dust reacts to children and adults. As this shows, adults attract far larger amounts of Dust than children, mostly because their intelligence and individuality attracts more as they age." Lyra sat back down in her seat. "The answer to your question is Dust, Dame Hanna. Also knows as shadows, dark matter, and in some cases, original sin." Lyra looked around the room for the first time since she had begun her impromptu speech and noticed how everyone was staring at her in open-mouthed amazement. Lyra blushed and looked down at her desk.  
  
Dame Hanna raised an eyebrow. "Well said Lyra, though you've just clarified several points currently in heavy debate. The Master of Jordan College told me to trust your word on any mention of Dust, I must say, I hadn't expected such immense understanding."  
  
"The Master is quite aware of my past 'adventures'" Lyra said softly. "I'm glad he trusted me, so few people did then. I told a lot of stories before then." She looked up quickly, "But everything I've just told you- and more- is completely true Dame Hanna." She said quickly before returning her gaze to her wooden desk. "Why are we discussing this?" Lyra asked even more softly, a tear dripping down and splattering on the desk. Dust reminded her of her adventures, her adventures reminded her of Will, thoughts which reminded her that he was still very much out of her reach; despite the comfort it was to have Kirjava.  
  
"The concept of Dust has finally been approved for inclusion in the advanced physics curriculum, since its discovery 3 years ago. Lyra m'dear, you are the only expert in practical application of this information due to your past experiences. Evidently you knew exactly what you were dealing with to begin with, at least to some extent. Your knowledge could be highly beneficial to the rest of the class."  
  
Lyra's head shot up in an instant. "Despite how honored I am at such an idea, Dame Hanna," her eyes had hardened to the extent that their blue depths no longer appeared as deep pools, but two ice cubes. "Dust has been the bane of my existence since the first day I learned of it. It is best NOT to know. The only thing that would benefit you to know is that it is absolutely necessary to live your life fully, watching everything around you and taking in the beauty of the world in which you live. Spending your life studying prevents you from truly living. Live fully, and when you die- tell them stories. Tell your stories all your life, from the time you are born from Dust- to the day you return to it." Lyra stood up and Kirjava jumped into her arms. "Thank you Dame Hanna, but I'll be leaving now." She said simply, walking towards the door. "Studying Dust will only lead to trouble, that I can assure you of." She walked out and closed the door gently behind her before running out of the school to the Botanical Gardens, still the only place she could find peace.  
  
Dame Hanna stared open mouthed at the place Lyra had been standing for a full minute before recovering enough to continue class. NO child had ever had such gall before in HER classroom. And quite frankly, it scared her that one could.  
  
Melanie looked up and frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you should have done that Dame, may I have your permission to follow her and make sure she's alright?" Dame Hanna merely looked at her and nodded, still too shocked to raise much protest. Mel quickly bolted out the door and towards the Gardens; she knew she'd find Lyra there somewhere.  
  
~*~  
  
The day had passed smoothly for Will. First thing that morning he had shown Nick the key and told him how it theoretically worked. Nick had been extremely excited, but was able to hold his tongue the entire day. When he thought about it, he had actually kept A LOT to himself, Will's past in its entirety. Will had invited Nick to his 'birthday dinner' that evening to meet his mother.  
  
School that day had nearly been a blur; Will remembered very little of what had happened. Nothing could even compare to the key he wore about his neck. Nothing in school could inspire so much hope as that simple key. Before he knew it, he was home and his mother was arriving. Everything was going perfectly as planned. Well, at least it was.  
  
Dinner was a success, Mary and Will had combined their small cooking skills to come up with fried chicken, macaroni, biscuits, and a salad- very impressive considering the usual 'fend for yourself' attitude of the small kitchen. Elaine and Nick had been very complimentary of the food, and Elaine had pulled a large cake out of her bag at the last minute. All the food was either eaten or put away by now and the four of them were sitting in the living room talking.  
  
The conversation had been proceeding with a certain tension to it; it had all been rather formal, including the inquiries of schoolwork and friendships along with the latest 'discoveries' regarding the shadows…Lyra's Dust. These discussions were treated with levity hardly to be expected in the discussion of controversial theories. However, that is only to be expected when you have two individuals who had previously experienced and observed Dust in 'action' along with two others of second hand knowledge. Conversation lagged until Elaine looked up suddenly, confused.  
  
"Will, for some reason I think you need to go somewhere…somewhere green." She furrowed her eyebrows, "it's almost as if the…dust floating in the air is telling me that you must go now to a place with a lot of flowers and plants, and I don't know why, but it seems, almost…familiar in a way."  
  
"You mean a garden?" Will asked? "Like the Botanical Garden down the road?" Will had been happy to discover that Mary didn't live very far at all from the Botanical Gardens he and Lyra had agreed to meet in every year. Could that be where he was supposed to go? And how did his mother know he was supposed to go there?  
  
"That sounds right, an enclosed area…with a bench." She said slowly, almost as if she were looking at a picture in her mind that she'd never actually seen.  
  
Will's eyes widened in shock. "I…know the place." He said slowly. "Thank you, I don't know when I'll be back, but…thank you." He smiled, giving his mom a hug. "Nick?" Nick looked up and nodded before standing to join him at the door. "Mary...we'll be back, I don't know when, but we'll be back. Come on Pantalaimon." With that, the three of them darted out the door and ran towards the garden, arriving in less than 15 minutes.  
  
Will slowly walked up to the bench. Their bench. He slowly sat down on the left side, just as he always did when he visited. He smiled and looked up at Nick.  
  
"She's right here," he said, pointing to the other side of the bench, "in this very spot in her world at this very moment. It's time to try the key. I never imagined it would be so soon." Will slowly lifted the chain out of his shirt and rubbed his fingers over the intricate design on top of the key before holding it straight out, just as he'd done so many times before 2 years ago with the Subtle Knife. He felt through the snags in the air until he found the familiar resonance of Lyra's world. Slowly, he slid the key though the snag, which he now realized wasn't a snag at all, but a keyhole. 


End file.
